Jays and ‘Stros Swap Damaged Goods

Late Monday afternoon, the Toronto Blue Jays and Houston Astros struck a deal sending closer Roberto Osuna to Houston in exchange for Ken Giles, and minor leaguers Hector Perez, and David Paulino.

Both Giles and Osuna have been marred in controversy as of late however, as Osuna is due to come off of his 75-game suspension for domestic violence on August 4, while Giles was optioned to Triple-A in the middle of the month, after a spat with manager A.J. Hinch.

After breaking into the big leagues in 2014 and experiencing a lot of success with the Philadelphia Phillies, Giles has by and large struggled during his time in Houston, posting a .357 ERA and a .240 BAA, both high for a reliever.

On the other hand, Roberto Osuna has been electrifying on the mound during his 4 seasons in Toronto. Just 23 years old, he boasts a 2.87 ERA and a .203 BAA in his career. Off of the field, it will be interesting to see how Osuna is received by the fans in Houston, given his violent history. With this move the Astros further solidify their bullpen by trading a question mark in Giles, for a sure thing in Osuna, priming them for another long run into the post season.

For Toronto, their plan is to try get Giles’s slider back on track, in hopes of having him return to his former dominant self, as he is under team control through the 2020 season.

For both organizations, they receive players that had overstayed their welcomes in their prior homes, in hopes of restoring them to their prior glory.